Trump calls for ‘violent’ police action as Harris campaigns in Nevada

ERIE, United States: Donald Trump used a speech in the key state of Pennsylvania on Sunday to urge a “violent” police crackdown on crime in the United States, while his White House rival Kamala Harris spoke at a rally in Nevada to emphasize the need for emphasized immigration reform.

Pennsylvania is considered the most important of the seven toss-up states likely to decide the Nov. 5 presidential election, but Nevada is also one of the key battleground states.

The Republican former president and current candidate, who held a similar rally in the swing state of Wisconsin on Saturday, reiterated his dark, racially charged message about an America crumbling under “invasion” by violent migrants and other criminals.

Trump recounted isolated – but widely publicized – incidents of thieves committing brazen daylight robberies on stores in major cities. Trump drew loud cheers when he said police would have to become “extremely rough.”

Criminals, he said, “need to be educated” and this could be done “if you had one really violent day.”

“In a tough hour – and I mean really tough – the word would get out and it would end immediately,” Trump said.

“The police are not allowed to do their job” because “the liberal left won’t allow that.”

Harris, the vice president and Democratic nominee, spoke later in the day about the “serious problems” of border security at a rally in Las Vegas, where she wrapped up her usual stump speech, focusing on the economy, health care and the need for immigration reform. .

“As president, I will double the resources for the Department of Justice to go after the transnational cartels,” Harris said.

“We know that Donald Trump will not solve them. When he was president, he did nothing to improve our immigration system,” she added, calling for comprehensive reforms but without providing details.

As he did in Wisconsin on Saturday, Trump spent much of his speech painting a picture of a failing United States, overrun by what he said was the “vast number of feral criminal aliens that Kamala Harris has allowed to invade.” .

He claimed that “terrorists are pouring into our country” and last week cited “a big prison in Congo, in Africa” ​​as the source of “many people.”

Insults

Anti-immigrant sentiment has been at the core of Trump’s appeal in economically depressed, predominantly white parts of the country since his presidential victory in 2016, but the rhetoric is becoming increasingly extreme as Election Day approaches.

After record numbers of illegal border crossings earlier under President Joe Biden’s administration, a tightening of rules — to the consternation of immigrant rights and civil liberties groups — led to a drop in numbers this year.

Crime, including murder, is also declining sharply nationwide, the FBI says.

Trump has long prided himself on his ability to come up with insulting nicknames or insults for his opponents, and on Sunday he repeated a nickname he aired on Saturday, calling Harris — a former top prosecutor in California and a U.S. senator — “mentally retarded.”

“Crooked Joe Biden became mentally disabled. Sad. But honestly, I believe Kamala Harris was born that way,” Trump said to loud laughter from the crowd.

Harris did not address Trump’s comments during her Vegas rally, instead focusing on her usual bread-and-butter issues: protecting access to abortion services and putting more money in the pockets of everyday Americans.

“If Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as President of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law,” she told her supporters.